A Changing Life
by fairygurl621
Summary: completed Samantha and Martin await the arrival of their baby. Sequel to 'Hiding in the Light' MS Fluff. MS relationship. DM friendship.
1. Good Morning Good Morning

**Authors Note: This takes place about six months after 'Hiding in the Light'. A case is involved, but the story focuses on Martin, Samantha, and their upcoming baby.**

At seven am, Samantha sat at the kitchen table attempting to eat a bagel. She knew she'd be lucky if she could keep it down; apparently her baby wasn't a big fan of breakfast foods. In the past month alone, she'd given up orange juice, English muffins, French toast, and bananas. But so far, the bagel and milk seemed to be agreeing with her.

"You're up already?" Martin asked as he walked into the kitchen tying his tie.

"I couldn't sleep. It seems our baby thinks its fun to kick my organs." Samantha said as she took another bite of her bagel.

"You should rest; maternity leave isn't just because you're too big to go to work." Martin said jokingly and kissed the top of her head.

"That's funny." Samantha said as she stood up and walked toward the sink to wash her plate. Martin sipped his coffee as he rummaged though the newspaper.

Martin moved in with Samantha about three months into her pregnancy and within a month, they were engaged. Samantha was in her seventh months and was anxiously waiting the arrival of the baby. They had found out a couple months ago that the baby was a girl, but they had yet to agree on a name.

"What about Paige?" Samantha asked as she walked back toward the table.

"Paige? Maybe for a middle name."

"Oh." Almost everyday they asked each other about possible names. They had already vetoed 'Elizabeth' because Sam thought that 'Elizabeth Fitzgerald' was a mouthful, and she was afraid people would call her 'Lizzy Fitzy.' Sam put a hand on her growing belly as the baby kicked. "Ouch."

Martin looked up at her, startled, "What is it? Are you okay?" he walked over to her.

"I'm fine. The baby is just kicking. Here, feel." She felt for the painful spot and replaced her hand with Martin's. "Can you feel it?"

"Yeah," Martin said softly, "Wait, what's this?" He said as he felt around the spot where the baby had kicked.

"What's what?" Samantha put her hand under Martin's; she felt a tiny bomp-bomp-bomp. "That's where the heart is."

Martin smiled at Sam and kissed her. Martin's cell phone rang. They both sighed as Martin went to answer the phone, which seemed to always be interrupting them.

"Fitzgerald… Okay…yeah…I'm on my way." Martin hung up his phone and went searching for his jacket.

"What is it?" Sam asked walking toward his jacket and handed it to him

"Thanks. I have to go to the office." Martin replied

"Oh. Say 'hi' to everything for me." Even though Sam liked resting at home, she still missing going to work and seeing her friends.

"Sure. I'll see you later." Martin leaned over and kissed Samantha on the cheek. "Get some rest. I love you."

"I love you too. See you later." In this line of work, "later" could be anything from twelve hours to forty-eight hours. Martin smiled apologetically as he left; Sam knew that he felt guilty for leaving her each morning. She didn't really mind, but she knew it would be even harder on him once the baby came.

Sam walked toward the baby's room that used to be a guest room. Not that Samantha ever had any guests when she lived alone. The walls were painted off-white and the wooden floor had a light pink rug in the middle. A changing table beginning to be filled with diapers and changing supplies was on one side of the small room, and a crib filled with pink blankets was on the other side. A dresser was leaning against the third wall which was also beginning to be filled with baby outfits. The baby was expected to come in the second week in November. Samantha walked toward a box in the middle of the room that held the contents of a yet-to-be-assembled playpen and moved it next to the dresser. She couldn't believe was really having a baby, she had never thought of herself as maternal. She was equally scared and excited for the baby to come, but Martin was ecstatic. Samantha was beginning to feel tired again, and crawled back into bed.


	2. A Day in the Life

Martin walked into the bullpen and greeted Danny, Vivian, and Jack.

"Hey. What do you need help with?" Martin asked Jack as he settled in his desk.

"Missing college student, we have a surveillance tape from outside of a gas station of her being shoved into a car. That's pretty much all we have right now. Besides personal stuff, that is."

"Okay, so what can I do?"

"Vivian and I are going to talk to her parents. You and Danny are heading over to her college to talk to her roommate and professors."

"Sounds good," Martin turned toward Danny and put his coat back on, "Ready?"

"Yep, let's go."

Danny begun to drive the two hour drive to the modest college in upstate New York, "God, I hope we don't have to go here more than once, this drive is brutal." Danny said to Martin.

"Yea." Martin replied as he looked out the window.

"Something wrong, Marty?" Danny asked his friend.

"No, I just feel bad," he said turning to Danny, "leaving Samantha. She's just all alone. What if something happened to her or the baby and I couldn't be there?"

"Nothing is going to happen to her or the baby. You know she'd call you the second she felt something was wrong."

"I guess." Martin said as he fiddled with the radio searching for a half decent radio station, but after thirty seconds of searching, he gave up and turned the radio off and forcefully leaned back on his chair.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked as he turned of the left blinker.

"I should be home."

"You're way too paranoid, Martin." Danny chuckled, "Thought of any new names?"

"Not really. Sam suggested Paige, and we still have Alexis, Lily, Grace, Natalie, and Molly as possibilities."

"Well, it's a good thing you still have two months to decide."

"Yeah." Martin smiled as they turned into the college. "So what's the story with this girl?"

"Umm, Nineteen, College Sophomore. Her name is Carrie White."

"That name sounds familiar." Martin said

"Stephen King's 'Carrie'. Hey, I wonder if pig's blood was dumped on her at her prom."

"Yea, and I bet she can move things with her mind. Who are we going to talk too?"

"Her roommate, Rose Waters."

"People have weird names these days." Martin said as Danny parked the car in the campus parking lot.

"Let's see what we can find out about Miss White." Danny said as he walked toward the dormitories.

"Miss Waters? I'm Agent Taylor, this is Agent Fitzgerald. We'd like to talk to you about your roommate, Carrie White?"

"Yea, sure. Come in." said the pale faced girl with long strawberry long hair. As the two male agents walked in to the dorm, they noticed that one side was fairly tidy with dozens of novels neatly organized while the other side had CDs and magazines thrown about. Martin thought it was the most cliché college dormitory he'd ever seen.

"When was the last time you saw Carrie?" Danny asked

"About three, maybe four days ago. I don't see her everyday though. Our classes and personal lives kind of clash; I'm a morning person, she's more of a night owl."

"So, which side of the room is Carrie's?" Martin asked.

"The messy side," Rose chucked to herself, "She is wilder than I am, and a lot messier. But we get along all right."

"Does she go out a lot?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Pretty much whenever she gets a chance. But where? I don't know. She doesn't talk to me about that stuff."

"Is she seeing anyone?"

"I'm not sure. She may be having some kind of fling. I think that's over though. She came home crying about something the other day."

_Flashback_

"_Carrie? Is that you?" Rose asked as she turned on the light. Carrie turned walked in to the dorm and covered her face from the light._

"_Sorry to wake you, Rose. I just had a bad night." Carrie said as she searched for tissue. It was until then that Rose saw she was crying._

"_Carrie, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Rose said as she walked toward her roommate. _

"_I'm just a big idiot. I'm gonna take a shower. I'm really sorry to wake you up." Carrie grabbed a towel and a pair of pajamas and walked out of the dorm. Rose turned toward the clock, it read 2:48 A.M._

_End Flashback_

"Did you ever find out what she was crying about?" Martin asked.

"No, but one of her friends came by the other day and I asked her if she knew anything about Carrie."

"What was the friends' name?" Danny asked

"Megan Horton."

"Did you find out anything?" Martin asked the girl

"I don't know if it's true, but Carrie told Megan that she had been sleeping with one of her professors. I think it was her Lit professor. But I don't know if it's true."

Martin looked at Danny, "I guess we've got a lead."


	3. Day Tripper

When Samantha awoke around ten, she decided to take a shower and get dressed. Lately, she stayed in the safety of her own apartment fearing for the life of her unborn baby. She would never leave unless Martin was with her. She was just afraid something bad would happen. After her shower, still dripping wet, Samantha picked out a red maternity shirt and a pair of maternity jeans. After dressing, Sam went into the kitchen to make a peanut-butter sandwich. She started chewing and sat down on the couch, she was bored. Since nothing was on TV, Sam turned it off and begun to reminisce about the past few years with Martin. She had basically locked her heart up after the ordeal with Jack, she was even skeptical about starting things up with Martin- the last thing she wanted was to get her heart broken again. Before she had found out she was pregnant, Samantha felt that she and Martin had been drifting apart. And then in a second, Samantha was pregnant and Martin was in a life-threatening accident. The baby shifted inside her and Samantha moved around on the couch trying to get comfortable again. After the baby stopped moving and begun to be still yet again, Samantha decided to watch a movie. She scanned the dozen movies that they had and decided on 'American Beauty' even though she figured she'd fall asleep in the middle of it. Not that she really had anything better to do anyway.

"Jack, Martin and I are going to talk to the professor Carrie may have been sleeping with…it could not be true, though…it seems that she was definitely hiding something…yeah, I'll check back later." Danny hung up his phone and he and Martin waited outside of Professor Lewton's classroom. In a few minutes, coeds begun to march out of the classroom, Martin and Danny ducked in.

"Professor Lewton?" Martin asked as he and Danny held up their badges, "I'm Agent Fitzgerald and this is Agent Taylor. We're with the FBI; we'd like to ask you a few questions about Carrie White."

"What about her?" Professor Lewton was fairly young, probably in his early thirties.

"She's missing." Danny said as he studied the professor.

"Oh. That's odd. But I guess that makes sense, she hasn't been showing up for class recently."

"When was the last time you saw her?" Martin asked.

"About three days ago, she came in after one of my classes…"

_Flashback_

_Carrie White walks into the empty classroom, her shoulder length dark brown hair is pulled back into a pony tail, she is wearing jeans and a sweat-shirt. She looks tired and sad. _

"_Professor? May I talk to you for a minute?" Carrie asked the Professor who was grading papers._

"_Of course, Carrie. Is everything okay? I didn't see you this morning."_

"_Sorry about that, I had a family emergency. I'll get the notes from someone though."_

"_Okay, is everything okay? With your family, I mean."_

"_Yea. Can I ask you something?"_

"_Sure."_

"_Umm…you said in class one time that your brother was a cop," Carrie said and Lewton nodded, "Just, one of my friends is being harassed by a guy she knows. Should she go to the cops?"_

"_I would recommend so. It's not you is it?"_

"_No, of course not. I just needed an opinion, thanks for your time Professor." Carrie clutched her bag and walked out of the classroom._

_End flashback_

"Have you heard from her since?" Martin asked.

"No, like I said, that was the last time I saw her."

"Were you sleeping with her?" Danny asked abruptly.

"What! No, I am a respectable professor and have never had relations with other students. Where did you hear that?"

"We just wanted to verify something, Professor." Martin said calmly.

"Yea, well, make sure the theory isn't unreasonable first. Will you excuse me, I have a class in twenty minutes and I need to get ready."

"Of course, sorry to waste your time," Danny said, "Oh, would you mind telling us where your brother works."

"NYPD. Inspector Don Lewton."

"Thanks." Martin said as they walked out of the classroom.

"So what do we have so far?" Jack asked as the others sat around the big table in the bullpen.

"She may have been getting harassed by someone. We are still trying to find Don Lewton." Danny said.

"Is suicide a possibility?" Martin asked.

"Maybe," Jack said, "When Viv and I went to talk to her parents, they said she had been severely depressed for the past couple years. But they thought that she had gotten better. For all we know, the footage on the surveillance camera could just be a set-up. Or it could be an actual abduction. A/V is still trying to clean up the image. We may be able to get an I.D. of him." As Jack finished up, the A/V man walked into the bullpen. "Taylor, I think we got him."

Jack and Danny went into the A/V room, Martin and Vivian continued to look though credit card receipts and phone bills.

"How's Samantha doing?" Vivian asked.

"Good. She's tired a lot, and she misses everyone."

"When is she due?"

"Second week of November."

"Seven weeks. Are you ready?" Vivian said smiling

"I think so. I guess I hadn't really thought about it much."

"You're going to be a great dad. I mean, you can put up with Danny."

"Yeah, I guess." Martin's smile faded as he glanced though a credit card bill, "Yeah Viv? Carrie White bought a gun about a week ago." Vivian looked up at him, started.

"Protection?"

"Maybe, I'll go tell Jack." Martin grabbed the piece of paper and waked toward the A/V room.

"Marty, what'd you find?" Danny asked as Jack and the A/V man ran the kidnapper though the criminal database.

"Our Carrie White needed more than mind powers to protect herself: she bought a gun last week."

Danny sighed, "Does she have a license?"

"Nothing to suggest she doesn't." Martin replied.

"Guys, we got him." Jack said as a criminal record of one Thomas Carson came out of the printer. Thomas was 23 and arrested two years earlier for driving under the influence.

"This guy looks familiar," Martin said to Danny, "wasn't he in Lewton's class?"

"Yeah, he walked out when we walked in. Maybe he's still on campus."

"Okay, Danny and I will go. Martin, stay here with Vivian and see what you can get on this guy." Jack said

"Okay." Martin walked back into the bullpen and informed Vivian of the updates as Danny and Jack left.

Samantha awoke to the DVD menu of 'American Beauty' and grew quite sick of the plastic bag blowing around the screen. She turned off the DVD and went to the bathroom. When she returned, she rummaged though the kitchen for something to eat. It was around four p.m. and she was starving. She decided on left over pepperoni pizza, with green peppers of course. She wondered how Martin was doing on the case; he must have been pretty busy since he usually called her when he was bored. Sam looked over the list of baby names once again and crossed off Natalie.

"Lily, Grace, Molly. Lily Grace Fitzgerald." Samantha smiled at the name. She had finally decided on a name for the baby.

"Thomas Carson? FBI! Open up!" Jack yelled to the dorm room with Danny by his side.

"Umm, can I help you?" Said a young man who opened the door, and who was not Thomas.

"Are you the roommate? We're looking for Thomas Carson." Danny said to the kid

"Yea, he's my roommate. He just left a few minutes ago."

"Where did he go?" Jack asked.

"I...I don't know." The kid stammered.

"Okay, um, did he take a car? Ride a bus? Walk?" Danny questioned

"He ran. And he grabbed a key or something. I know he has a storage space somewhere; he keeps all his crap there."

"Okay, we're gonna need to know where that is." Jack said; ready to write it down in his notebook.

"FBI!" Martin yelled as he, Danny, and Jack made their way to Storage Shed Storage Area #180.

"Open it!" Danny commanded the owner of the business and he obeyed. The door opened and the first thing they say was Carrie White with duct tape over her mouth and around her wrists and ankles. Danny walked in to help her, but was hit over the head with a baseball bat by a figure appearing out of the dark.

"Shit!" Jack yelled as he and Martin pulled their guns out.

"Stay away from us!" Thomas Carson yelled as he pulled out a gun. Martin's eyes shifted to an unconscious Danny lying on the ground next to a tied up Carrie White. "If I can't have her," Carson said as he aimed the gun toward Carrie, "no one will!"

"Don't shoot!" Martin commanded.

"Bitch!" Thomas didn't move the aim of the gun away from Carrie's head, "You made my life miserable! All I ever wanted was you! And what did you do? You went and screwed some Professor!" Carrie's screams were muffled by the duct tape, but she continued to look into Thomas's eyes. Suddenly, the gun shifted and was held against Thomas's own head, and he shot himself point-blank while staring into Carrie's eyes. She screamed and closed her eyes as blood splattered over her face.

"I'll get a medic, you help them." Jack instructed Martin. Martin checked Danny's pulse; he was still okay, but out cold. Martin then pulled off the duct tape off Carrie's mouth.

"I'm Agent Fitzgerald, I'm with the FBI. Everything is going to be okay now." He said calmly and the girl nodded and started to cry.

"Sam? I'm home." Martin said as he turned on the apartment lights and closed the door.

"Hey," Sam said as she came to greet him, "How was work?" Martin leaned in and kissed her.

"Long. Danny got beaten up." Martin said lightly

"Oh my God, is he okay?"

"He'll be fine; he just got knocked unconscious by a baseball bat."

"I hope he's going to be okay," Sam said, even though she knew he was going to be himself again in no time, which may or may not be a good thing. "I want to show you something." Sam grabbed Martin's hand and led him to the baby's room. Martin noticed she was already in her pajamas, which seemed reasonable since it was almost ten o'clock, and that her stomach seemed to be even bigger than it was that morning when he left.

"Ta-da!" She exclaimed as she turned on the light in the baby's room. All of the things that needed to be put together had been, and a few pictures had been framed and put up on the walls. Most of the pictures were of cutesy things: flowers, animals, and simple landscapes. The room was also tidier and more organized then it had been before.

"Wow! You did all this?" Martin said as he put his arm around her and kissed her head.

"Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm useless." Sam laughed, "Anyway, I'm going to bed."

"Yea, I'll be there in a second." Martin said Sam turned to kiss him. Samantha twisted away and headed back toward the bedroom. Martin walked into the bedroom and picked up a pink teddy bear and smiled, he was ready for the baby to come.

"Oh, hey Martin?" Sam appeared in the doorway again.

"Yeah?" Martin looked up, but he still held the teddy bear.

"I thought of a name."

"Another one?" He smiled

"A full name. Lily Grace. Lily as the first name, Grace as the middle."

"Lily Grace Fitzgerald. I like it." He said as he walked toward her.

"Just _like_ it?" Sam sounded disappointed.

"I love it," Martin said as he wrapped his arms around her, "it's perfect."

She leaned in and kissed him. "Yea. Okay, I'm going to bed for real this time. I love you."

"I love you so much." Martin hugged her. After a minute, Sam pulled out of the embrace.

"Goodnight."

"'Night. I'll be in in a minute." Samantha left a second time. Martin walked toward the dresser again and put the teddy bear in the original place. Martin and Samantha were ready for the baby to come, now all they had to do was wait.


	4. All You Need is Love

**Authors note: This chapter takes place five weeks after the last chapter(s), thus meaning Sam's due date is two weeks away. Flashbacks are in italics. ****I apologize for any typos. **

Martin woke up to the sound of thunder and rain. He looked over at the nightstand clock and it read 3:12 A.M. He figured he could go back to sleep, but when he rolled over; he noticed Samantha's side of the bed was empty. He yawned, and got out of bed to go look for her. By then he was already awake.

"Sam? Are you okay?" The first place he looked was the bathroom, with was vacant, and then went into the kitchen. Sam was sitting on the floor with her back leaning against the counter, holding her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Martin rushed down toward her.

"I…I thought it was nothing, but…" Sam moaned in pain, "I think it's…"

"You're in labor." Martin said as he held her hand and tried to help her stand up. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah…I think so." Sam stood up.

"Okay," Martin tried to stay calm, "I'll get the bag, and do you wanna change cloths?"

"I have too," Sam said and looked to the floor, "My water just broke." Sam walked slowly toward the bedroom while Martin grabbed a pre-packed bag, the keys to the car and apartment, and his cell phone. He remembered it was raining and grabbed their coats and an umbrella. He heard Samantha scream and ran toward the back of the apartment. She was sitting on the bed about to put on a sweat shirt over her tee shirt and sweatpants.

"Contraction!" She said though clenched teeth and Martin ran over and held her hand while she squeezed it. "Okay, it's over. Let's go."

Martin held Samantha's hand as they walked out of the apartment.

_"You know, I didn't say anything earlier, but, uh, thank you. For saving my life."_

"_You're welcome." Martin to Samantha and they shared a look._

"_Taxi." A taxi stops on a curb by Samantha._

"_I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Martin said_

"_Yeah." Sam turned to the taxi._

"_Good night."_

"_Good night." Sam said as she begun to walk toward the cab, Martin walked the other way and begun to hail a taxi._

"_Hey, Martin?"  
"Yeah?" He replied as he turned toward her._

"_You wanna share a cab?"_

"_I live uptown." Martin pointed to the opposite direction._

"_Yeah, I know." Samantha said as Martin hesitated, and walked toward her._

"You're about five centimeters dilated. I'll be back in about an hour to check you again" The doctor said and then left the room.

"Five? How long were you having contractions?" Martin asked.

"About an hour." Sam replied

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"I don't know." Sam said and leaned back in the hospital bed, Martin pulled up a chair next to her.

"Can I get you anything?" Martin asked.

"No, I'm okay."

"I think I'm gonna get some bad hospital coffee. I'll be back in a minute." Martin left the room and Sam looked out the window at the rain.

_"Hey." It was the office Christmas party. Sam walked up to Martin who was serving eggnog._

"_Hey."_

"_I wanted to tell you something."_

"_Sure. What's up?" _

"_I'm happy."_

"_Okay." Martin looked slightly confused._

"_I mean you make me really, really happy." Martin looked relived and smiled at her; she took a deep breath and smiled back._

"Man, bad hospital coffee was an understatement." Martin said as he sat back down in the chair and put the coffee on the floor next to him.

"I hope you're not hungry, I hear hospital food is even worse." Samantha said smiling.

"I don't think I'll want to be eating." Martin smiled and Samantha begun to wince in pain. Martin jumped up and held her hand until it was over.

"They're getting worse."

"That means the baby will be coming sooner."

"I know what it means!" Samantha snapped. "Sorry." She said quickly

"It's okay." Martin said and sat back down.

"Is it two weeks to early?" Sam asked

"No. My cousin Jamie had Eva three weeks early and Eva was perfectly healthy."

"Okay." Sam leaned back. "Another one is coming." Martin leaned over and held her hand until the contraction stopped.

_"You just got your head handed to you." Sam said as she walked toward Martin's desk._

"_Well, it wouldn't be the first time." Martin smiled_

"_I guess some things around here won't change too much."_

"_I was thinking some things will though."_

"_What do you mean?" _

"_I mean you and me…we, uh, kinda got interrupted this morning."_

"_Yeah, we did." Samantha and Martin smiled at each other_

"_I'll walk out ahead of you."_

"_Okay." Samantha turned and waited for Martin to walk out of the bullpen, a minute later she followed him out. _

"Samantha, you're going to have to push harder." Dr. Laura Scott said.

"I'm trying." Sam said as Martin held her hand and she begun to give birth to their baby.

"Okay. I see a shoulder. Just push a little bit more."

Samantha screamed in pain and squeezed Martin's hand.

"Alright, she's here." Dr. Scott said as she held up the crying newborn for Samantha and Martin to see.

"Oh. She's beautiful. And so small." Sam said as she watched her baby being cleaned up. The doctor wrapped up baby Lily and handed her to Samantha. Samantha let go of Martin's hand and held the baby. "Hi." Samantha said and Martin knelt down to be level with Samantha and the baby.

"She's perfect." Martin said and leaned over to kiss Samantha on the lips.

"Yeah." The baby begun to whine and Samantha softly stroked the baby's forehead.

"Samantha?" The doctor said, Samantha responded by looking up. "We are going to have to take you to recovery."

"Okay." Sam looked down at the baby and handed her back to the doctor.

"We'll bring her back to you when you are settled."

"Okay." The nurse and Martin helped Sam walk to the wheelchair and Martin wheeled her into recovery.

_"So Scully, you done yet?" Martin leaned over Sam's desk._

"_I still have about a half an hour here." _

"_Okay." Martin sighed and put his head down jokingly._

"_You know, I still haven't seen your apartment." Sam smiled._

"_No, you haven't." They both smiled._

"_So I'll come by later?"_

"_Sounds good." Martin nodded and walked away. Samantha smiled to herself._

"Hey, Marty." Danny said as he and Vivian walked up behind Martin who was looking at Lily in the nursery.

"Congratulations." Vivian said.

"Which was is she?" Danny asked and Martin pointed to the tiny baby in a pink blanket who was being put down by the nurse.

"How is Samantha?" Vivian asked as she smiled at the baby.

"Good, tired. She was sleeping when I left a couple minutes ago. But she may be awake now."

"We don't want to disturb her; we just wanted to see the baby." Vivian said.

"So, did you guys finally decided on a name?" Danny asked.

"Lily. Lily Grace Fitzgerald." Danny and Vivian nodded and smiled.

"Mr. Fitzgerald?" The middle-age nurse asked as she walked in from Samantha's room.

"Yeah?" Martin replied.

"Samantha just woke up and was wondering were you were. We are going to take the baby in the room to be with her. Unless you wanted to bring the baby in."

"Sure." Martin said and the nurse walked in the nursery and handed him Lily. Martin walked into Samantha's room holding their baby as Danny and Vivian followed close behind.

_"So…you and Marty seem…well, you seem something." Danny asked with a smile on his face._

"_Yeah, we are." Samantha said cautiously._

"_Good. It is good, Sam." Danny said and Samantha smiled shyly. "Why are you hiding it?"_

"_It's just…" Samantha's explanation was interrupted by Danny's cell phone ringing, and in a way she was relived. _

"Hey, Sam." Danny said as he, Martin, and Vivian walked around the bed.

"Hi. Thanks for coming."

"Do you think we'd miss this?" Vivian asked

"Do you want to hold her?" Sam asked to her friends.

"Sure." Vivian replied and Martin handed Lily to Viv. "She's beautiful." Vivian smiled at the baby as she begun to drift off to sleep.

"Okay, my turn." Danny said as he walked close to Vivian. "Hey, Lil." Danny said as he held the sleeping baby.

"Please don't call her 'Lil', Danny." Samantha said half-joking.

"Sorry. She's adorable." Danny said and looked up at Martin, "You know neither of you are going to get any sleep for about five years." Martin and Sam rolled their eyes. They all heard a distant humming noise and looked over at Vivian.

"It's my phone, I'll be right back." Vivian walked out of the room and Danny carefully handed baby Lily back to Samantha.

"That's probably work, so we should get going. I'll see you guys later, okay?" Danny smiled and walked out of the room. Martin pulled up a chair and sat next to Samantha. He kissed her lightly on the forehead. "How are you dong?"

"Tired, but happy," Sam looked down at the sleeping baby and then back to Martin, "Really, really happy."

_"Hey college girl." Martin said smiling kindly as he stood next to Samantha, who was lying on a gurney. _

"_I'm so sorry." She begun to cry._

"_Hey, you've got nothing to be sorry about. You were fantastic in there, do you hear me? You did good. You're going to be alright." Samantha nodded and kept crying, Martin softly touched her solder in effort to comfort her. "I've only got five minutes with you, okay. I know it's got to be hard to talk, but I need you to give me whatever you can about the hostages."_

"_Libby…Libby is the most likely to panic. Uh, Fran is…is strong. And Ted…Ted is…he's to scared to cause any trouble."_

"_Okay, and what about Berry? Berry Mashburn?"_

"_Paranoid, volatile, high-strung." She replied quickly_

"_Did he mention suicide?"_

"_No." _

"_No?" Martin asked_

"_Uh-uh." _

"_Did he talk about his kids?"_

"_Uh-uh."_

"_What about Sydney? Sydney Harrison? Do you think he killed her?"_

_Sam starts to cry again, "I don't know. I don't know."_

"_Okay, okay." Martin says quietly and brushes her forehead lightly with his thumb._

"_Did, he, uh ... did he talk about an accomplice, a partner?_

"_Uh... uh ... no, he ... he didn't mention a partner. He didn't ... he didn't call anyone."_

"_Alright, Thanks." Martin turned toward the paramedics, "Okay guys, let's get her to the hospital." The paramedics pull Samantha's gurney into the ambulance._

"_You're going to be alright, do you hear me?" Martin said and Samantha mumbled in response. As the ambulance drove away, Martin stood and watched it._

Martin held the apartment door open for Samantha, who was holding Lily.

"It's nice to be back." Sam said and they made their way toward the baby room. "This is your room." Sam said baby-talking to Lily.

"I thought you hated baby-talk." Martin said jokingly to Sam.

"Yeah…well…it's different now." She replied with a smile. "She's asleep." Sam said and handed Lily very carefully over to Martin while she prepared the crib.

"Okay, here we go!" Martin said as he lowered the baby into the crib and tucked her in. Samantha stood next to him watching quietly. "Are you okay?" Martin asked.

"I just…can't leave her." Sam said and Martin put his arm around her.

"Where are you planning on going?"

"Just, whenever, I can't leave her."

"I know." Martin said and kissed her forehead.

"She really is perfect, isn't she?" Sam asked and Martin kissed her again.

"I love both of you." He said and she smiled. They stood there watching their baby sleep and were both nervous and excited for their new life about to begin.


	5. Eight Days A Week

"Good morning." Martin said as he walked into the kitchen holding a happy Lily.

"Hi." Sam said as she drank a cup of tea. Lily was almost six months old, and it was the first time she'd sleep though the night. They new that they were lucky to have such a happy baby who rarely every cried. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great, for once." Martin smiled and put the baby in the playpen on the floor.

"Hi, baby!" Sam said sweetly to the baby, who had instantly found a teddy bear and put it in her mouth. "I hope she grows out of that."

"I hope so. I don't think she'd be too liked in high school if she puts random things in her mouth."

"Have you been to a High School recently, Martin?" Sam said with a smirk on her face.

"Ha, ha." Martin said and sighed, "I should probably get ready."

"Yeah, work. Right." Samantha said sadly, she wished he was around more, and she knew he did too. Samantha put her cup of tea down and sat down next to the playpen and watched Lily giggle as her teddy bear fell over. She definitely had a strange sense of humor. Samantha stood up and picked up her daughter. Lily was dressed in a pink one-piece baby outfit with butterflies on the front; she also had a pink cap on her head. Lily had brown eyes like her mom, and the few hairs that she had were brown, like her dad's. The baby giggled as Samantha sat down on the couch holding her and standing her up. Martin emerged from the bedroom tying his tie. "I wish I could stay home with you."

"Me too." Samantha said as she turned the baby around to face Martin.

"Hi, Lily." He said and walked toward the baby. The baby grinned and wiggled until Samantha sat her down on her lap.

"She has a lot of energy this morning." Samantha said and stood up.

"Well, she slept all night." Martin said and walked toward them. "Well, I have to go." Martin kissed the baby's cheek and then Samantha on the lips.

"I love you." He said

"I love you, too." She said and moved to put the baby back in the playpen. "Have a good day."

"Yeah, you too," Martin said as he walked toward the door, "I'll see you later."

"Yeah." Samantha said sadly and wished that he had more of a 9 to 5 job instead of one where he could be in the office for days at a time. Martin walked out of the door and Samantha directed her attention to the baby who was searching for something to put in her mouth. Samantha smiled at her and walked back to the kitchen for another cup of tea.

* * *

"Morning," Danny said as Martin walked into the bullpen and went toward his desk, "You look rested, for once."

"Yeah, Lily slept though the whole night." Martin said and sat down at his desk, "So, any Missing Persons yet?"

"Not yet." Danny replied, "Looks like a fun filled day of paperwork."

"Great." Martin groaned, he hated desk work, although it will probably mean that he'll be home at a reasonable time today.

"Morning, Martin. How are Samantha and the baby?" Vivian asked as she walked into the bullpen holding a cup of coffee.

"They're good. Last night Lily slept though the whole night."

"Wow, at only six months. Reggie didn't sleep though the night until he was one."

"That must have been a long year." Martin replied

"You're telling me." Vivian smiled, "the baby must be getting big now. I haven't seen her since last month, I think it was."

"Yeah, maybe Sam will bring her by the office sometime."

"That'd be fun." Vivian said and Jack walked into the bullpen holding several manila folders. "Well, guys, sharpen your pencils. A long day of paperwork is ahead of us." The three other agents growled.

* * *

"Okay, Lily, let's get your diaper bag ready." Sam said as she prepared to take her daughter to the park on such a nice day. "Okay, I've got my keys and my cell phone and the baby stuff." She said to herself and put the baby in the stroller. Samantha double checked everything and closed the door apartment door.

"Here we are!" Sam said as she put the stroller next to a bench in the shade. Lily was dressed in a denim jumper with a pink long sleeve shirt under it. Samantha adjusted the denim hat on Lily's head and wrapped a pink blanket around her. Samantha sat down on the bench and opened a 'Time' magazine. Before long, the baby fell asleep. After consuming a bottle of water, Samantha realized she had to go to the bathroom. She got the baby stuff and the stroller and went to the nearest ladies room. While Samantha was washing her hands, she moved the stroller next to the sink as she went to get a paper towel. Unfortunately, the paper towel dispenser was all out so she went to the other side of the bathroom. Her back wasn't turned for more than a minute, but when she went back to the sink, the stroller was gone. Panicked, Sam ran out of the bathroom and looked for the baby. Tears begun to fill her eyes as she ran though out the park. "Lily!" She called even though she knew the baby would not answer her. Samantha reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone.

* * *

Martin's cell phone rang its annoying ring. When he went to answer it, he noticed the familiar number on the caller I.D. "Hey Sam, what's up?"

"Martin...I wasn't gone for more than a minute…and then…I don't know." Samantha sounded upset. More than upset, more like terrified.

"Sam, honey, calm down. Tell me what happened." Danny and Vivian looked up from their desks when hearing Martin's concerned tone mixed with Samantha's name.

"I…she's gone…someone took her!" Now she seemed angrier.

"Who? Lily? Where are you?" Martin stood up and Danny and Vivian exchanged glances and walked toward him. "Okay, I'm on my way. Don't move."

"Marty, what's up?" Danny asked as Martin hurried for his coat.

"Screw the coat." Martin said under his breath and headed out the bullpen.

"Martin! Tell us what is going on!" Danny nearly yelled. Martin turned around and let out a deep breath, "Someone took Lily."


	6. The Long and Winding Road

"What!" Vivian asked and handed Martin his coat.

"I don't know much. Samantha took her to the park and her back wasn't turned for more than a minute. And someone took my daughter!" He was enraged, not at Vivian or Danny or Samantha, but at whoever took Lily.

"We'll go with you. Help you look." Danny suggested

"I'll get Jack." Vivian said and walked toward Jack's office.

"I have to go. Can you guys meet me there?" Martin asked

"Yeah. Sure." Martin gave Danny the address of the park and ran out of the bullpen.

"What happened?" Jack asked rushing out of his office

"Martin just left, someone took Lily." Danny said and grabbed his cell phone and made way toward the elevator.

"Oh, God." Jack sighed; he knew what it was like to loose a child-or two children- but at least he knew they were okay. Martin and Samantha didn't know who had their daughter or where she was. "Okay, let's go."

Fifteen Minutes Missing

When Martin got to the bench were Samantha was, he saw that her face was already red and tear stained from crying.

"Martin, I'm so sorry. I just…" She begun crying again and Martin hugged her.

"It's not your fault. It's not your fault at all, Samantha." He said trying to comfort her.

"I know…I've worked this job for how many years and I let this happen? What are we going to do?"

"We do this stuff everyday. We can make it though. We'll find her." Martin said and wiped her tears away.

"I know." Samantha seemed to feel a little bit better, even though she was still miserable. It helped to have Martin there.

"They're on their way. They're going to help us." Martin said. Samantha had known instantly who "they" were, and it wasn't long before Danny's black car pulled up near them.

"Sam! Are you okay?" Danny asked as he ran toward her.

"No." She said and leaned into Martin's shoulder.

"Okay, Martin and I will ask around to see if anyone's seen her. Vivian will talk to you. And Jack is working with the police to search the area."

"Okay." She said and gripped Martin's hand until he followed Danny. Vivian walked up to her, "I'm so sorry, sweetie." And Samantha began to cry again.

"I should have kept her near me. I should have been watching her the whole time!" Sam said and wiped her eyes. Vivian sat down on the bench next to her.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"I was in the bathroom," Sam pointed in the direction, "and I turned to get paper towels and then when I turned around, the stroller was gone."

"Okay. Was there anyone in the bathroom with you?"

"There was…um…an older lady," She pointed to the woman Martin was talking to, "And a woman with two kids, the kids looked about three and six." Vivian looked around the area and saw a woman with two kids talking to Danny, there was also a man next to her, most likely her husband. "And that's all I saw. The kids were kind of loud and the older woman was leaving right when I went to wash my hands, she told me how cute Lily was."

"And there wasn't anyone else?"

"Not that I saw." Samantha tried to remain calm for the sake of Lily. "But I think a couple of the doors were closed. I didn't notice anyone come out when Lily was...taken."

"And did you see a stroller?" Martin asked the elderly lady.

"Yes and a baby. Oh, the cutest baby. And then I left. I wasn't out of the bathroom for a minute when I heard yelling."

"Yelling?" Martin asked

"Yes, the blond woman was looking for a lily." The woman seemed to have hearing problems.

"Okay. And did you see anyone leave the bathroom after you?"

"No."

"Okay, thank you." Martin sighed and walked toward Danny. "Got anything?"

"Not really. The woman with the kids pretty much said everything we already know."

"Kids can be pretty perspective, did they say anything?" Martin asked

"The older one said that she saw someone with a stroller right before Sam started yelling. She said she didn't really see their face."

"Great." Martin shook his head and glanced over at Samantha, who was leading Vivian over to the bathrooms. "I guess we just keep asking questions."

"Don't we always?" Danny said and he and Martin separated.

"Find anything?" Jack asked the police officers who were scouting the area.

"Well, it looks like stroller tracks here. But, then again, it could be from anything."

Thirty Minutes Missing

The team sat around the table as they had so many times before, but this time they all seemed on edge.

"Sam? Are you sure you want to work?" Jack asked her

"Yes." She said bluntly.

"Okay." He said softly, "Danny, what all do you have so far?" Danny stood up and walked toward the white board.

"Well, I was thinking that a woman may have taken her. Or maybe a woman hired or working with a man."

"Okay." Martin said

"There were kids in the bathroom, right?" Sam nodded in agreement, "So if two little girls saw a man in a women's restroom, they would notice it."

"I'm sure everyone would." Vivian said and sighed, "So were does that leave us?"

"There must have been something we overlooked," Jack thought for a second, "The restroom. No one saw anyone leave with a baby stroller from the front."

"We checked the exits and entrances," Vivian said, "The only other ways out of there was though an employee door which goes into a storage room and a window that was stuck half-open. Not big enough to fit a person or a stroller."

"The storage room," Jack hesitated, "where does that lead?"

"No where," Sam said, "It's just a closet."

"What was in it?" Jack asked

"Garbage cans, trash bags, rakes," Vivian replied, "we looked though it all. Nothing out of place."

"Wait a second," Danny said and walked back to his desk, "would it be possible that maybe we shouldn't be looking for someone with a stroller. Maybe just the baby."

"You think the ditched the stroller?" Martin said and stood up.

"Yeah, I think that the asshole took the stroller, ditched it and took only the baby, and walked out of the park without a care in the world."

"I'll kill them." Samantha said under her breath, so quietly that no one understood what she was saying.

"Okay, Martin and Danny, go back to the park. We'll stay here." Jack said and the other agents nodded. Sam stood up and walked toward her desk. It was weird for her to back at work, and working such a hard case.

Forty Minutes Missing

"Hey, Martin, I found it." Danny said as he walked into Martin's view carrying a dirty stroller.

"Yep, that's it." Martin said sadly and walked toward him.

"It was hidden under a pile of trash, a big pile of trash. I'm surprised PD didn't find it." Danny put it down and walked toward the pile of leaves, Martin followed.

"So now we are just looking for someone, possibly female, with a baby. That's just great." Martin said and walked toward the pile of trash.

"Martin, we'll find her." Danny reassured.

"I know." Martin put on a pair of rubber gloves and begun to look through the trash for any more evidence. Danny phone rang.

"Taylor…hey Jack…yea…how far? Okay, we're on our way." Danny hung up and turned toward Martin. "Marty, there was surveillance camera footage from a few blocks away of a mysterious woman carrying a bundle about the size of a six-month-old baby."

"Okay," Martin stood up, "let's go."

One Hour Missing

"How are you holding up?" Vivian asked Samantha who hadn't moved from her desk for the past half hour.

"I've been better." She said sadly, obviously trying to hide back tears.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee?"

"Coffee would be good." Sam looked back down at the desk, "What's the deal with the surveillance camera?"

"We're not sure. The guys are checking it out." Vivian said and walked out of the bullpen, "If there is anything you need, I'm here."

"Thanks, Viv." Sam forced a smile and let out a deep breath.

"So, Mr. Burke, did you see anything?" Danny asked the manager and an employee of the drugstore that had footage of the mystery woman.

"A woman, maybe in her late twenties or early thirties, came into the store holding a baby. I assumed the child was hers."

"Did she buy anything?" Danny questioned.

"Umm…she bought a toothbrush and some hair dye. And baby stuff." Said the redheaded teenage girl with a name tag reading 'My name is Mara, how may I help you?'

"Okay, do you have a receipt? How did she pay?" Martin asked

"Credit card, I think. We were pretty busy then." Mara replied.

"Mara? Receipt!" Said the manager, he seemed to be ashamed that he let a suspected kidnapper walk out of the store.

"Okay, okay. Hold on." The girl walked toward the cash register.

"Did you notice anything suspicious?" Danny asked

"Not really, I hardly got a lot at her. But now that you ask me, she did seem rather fidgety. Kinda nervous like." Danny nodded at his response.

"Okay, I got it." Mara said as she walked back holding a receipt. "Here it is. She used a credit card, bought 'Bronze Delight' hair dye, a toothbrush, a pack of diapers, a pacifier, and baby ointment, and some formula."

"Definitely caring for a baby." Danny said.

"We just have to find out whose baby." Martin said sadly.

One hour, twenty minutes Missing

"Find anything?" Jack asked as Martin and Danny entered the bullpen.

"Yeah, actually we did. It could be a false alarm, but someone bought some hair dye and baby supplies about a half hour after the abduction, only a few blocks away." Danny said

"Okay, good. Viv and I will track down the shopper. Everyone else, sit tight." Vivian begun to track down the shopper, and Martin's cell phone rang.

"Unknown number." He said before he answered it

"Could be ransom," Jack said to the technician, "Be ready to track it. Martin, keep them on as long as possible."

"I know," Martin prepared to answer the phone and Samantha and Danny watched carefully. "Hello?"

"Agent Fitzgerald," Said a mechanical voice, "I hear you're missing something…or should I say someone."

"What do you want?"

"How kind of you to ask me that, Agent. I don't think I'll tell you, though."

"Where is she!"

"All in good time." The line went dead.

Martin looked up at Jack, "Did we get him?"

"Almost, the call came in from Brooklyn; we got a ten mile radius. Danny, Martin, let's see what we can find. Viv and Sam, check out the shopper."

"Okay." Vivian replied and Sam met her eyes with Martin's. They both looked sad, but Martin was trying to remain calm for Samantha's sake. Martin left and Samantha walked over to Vivian.

"Okay, the credit card is registered to a Karen M. Jones. I'd bet the 'M' stands for moron." Vivian checked the DMV records for a Karen Jones. "Looks like there is at least a hundred."

"Cross-check though Brooklyn. And anyone between the ages twenty-five and forty." Sam said, it was the first time she'd spoken in almost an hour.

"Okay, now about a dozen." Vivian looked though anyone registered within the ten mile radius that the call came in. "Down to five." Vivian picked up the photo from the drugstore camera. "Okay, Caucasian race, Down to three."

"I'll call Danny; have them check out the remaining woman."

Two Hours Missing

"Karen Jones?" Danny asked the frail looking woman with dark brown hair.

"Yes?" She seemed nervous.

"I'm agent Danny Taylor, FBI. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions."

"Sure." She said with her head poking out of the door.

"Where were you around ten o'clock this morning?"

"I was…out."

"Out where?"

"I was shopping."

"Shopping where?"

"Umm…in the city. At Saks."

"For how long."

"A couple hours, I just got home."

"Can anyone verify that?"

"Most likely. Are we done now?"

"One more question, did you recently dye your hair."

"No…I mean yes. I mean a couple days ago."

"My sister, my daughter, my sister, my daughter. What is it?"

"Huh?"

"Chinatown, Jack Nicholson? Just answer the question; when did you dye your hair?"

"Last night."

"What color is it? Bronze Delight?"

"I don't know. Why is this relevant?"

"Do you have a baby?"

"No."

"Shocking. Do you have niece or cousin or baby sister?"

"No."

"Then why were you buying baby supplies at Walgreen's two hours ago holding a baby, which you don't seem to have?"

"Please leave!" The woman shut the door in Danny's face and Danny picked up his phone. "Hey Jack? I think we found the mystery lady. We just need to see if her alibi checks out, but I doubt it will."

Two hours, twenty minutes missing

"This Karen Michelle Jones used to be Angela Kramer. She changed her name two years ago. She has a record of drug trafficking for her brother…Todd Kramer." Vivian said to Jack on her cell phone.

"What's the deal with Todd Kramer?"

"Well, now he is Kevin Mitchell James."

"They have the same initials, and the new names are very close. Find anything on Kevin?"

"According to the DMV records, he lives twenty miles from Karen…and…oh God…"

"What? What did you find?" Jack asked irritated.

"It looks like they had another brother, Paul Kramer."

"Paul Kramer? From the Caitlyn Kruger case?"

"Yes. No wonder these people have a grudge against Martin."

"Yeah. Okay, I guess we should go meet Kevin James." Jack and Vivian hung up.

"What did you find?" Samantha asked as she walked toward Vivian's desk.

"I'm not sure you want to know."

"I want to know, Vivian."

"Okay," Vivian took a deep breath, "About five months ago, a ten year old girl went missing. We tracked her down, and it turns out she was kidnapped and killed by Paul Kramer."

"So?"

"So, when we found him, he drew his gun and aimed at Danny. He shoots, and barely missed him. But then Martin…"

"What?"

"Martin shot Kramer, and killed him."

"Oh." Samantha sat down on the desk. "He never told me."

"I guess he felt too guilty. He never really talked about it to anyone."

"That was right after Lily was born." Samantha said to herself

"Yeah. We weren't aware of any family he had, since they had changed their names. I guess now they are out for revenge."

Samantha put her head in her hands, "We have to find her. I don't know what I'll do if we don't."

"I know. I want to find this bastard as much as you do, Samantha. And fortunately for us, they are not too smart. It shouldn't be too long now."

Two Hours, Forty-five minutes missing

"Todd Kramer! FBI! Open up!" Martin yelled to the disclosed cabin in the middle of nowhere. Vivian, Samantha, and Danny had gone there right away, while Jack and Martin had watched Angela/Karen until she left her apartment and went to the cabin.

"Idiot." Jack had said as their suspect lead them right to the other suspect. "FBI!" Martin yelled again as Danny and Jack circled the perimeter. Samantha and Vivian sat in the car hidden from view. Vivian noticed Samantha didn't blink once when Martin begun to yell.

Pretty soon, Angela/Karen emerged holding a baby looking scared, and Todd/Kevin came out right behind them holding a gun.

"You asked for it!" Todd yelled and held up the gun and pointed it at Martin.

"Just give us the baby." Martin yelled and drew his gun

"No!" Todd yelled back

"Todd, just give them the baby." Angela said scared and the baby begun to cry. Samantha jumped up but Vivian held her down, "Just wait." Viv commanded.

"Shut the fuck up!" Todd pushed the gun against his sister's skull.

"Todd! Just put the gun down!" Jack commanded as he and Danny came around the corner. Danny aimed his gun at Todd's head, he had a clear shot.

"Don't shoot." Jack instructed to Danny "Viv," Jack paged Vivian, "Can you come out here for a second. Leave Sam in the car."

"Okay," Vivian replied, "Just sit tight, okay Sam. Everything is going to be okay."

Sam nodded and kept her eyes on Martin and Lily. She didn't know what she would do if she lost either one of them.

"Angela, I want you to give the baby to Agent Vivian Johnson." Jack said.

"No!" Todd yelled, "Don't give that baby to anyone. They took our brother, now we have the baby." Vivian carefully inched toward them and Martin covered her with the gun.

"Todd, I know you don't want to hurt anybody, okay." Martin said, "Now, just give Agent Johnson the baby. You're not going to get your brother back this way. You need to be a good person and give Agent Johnson the baby."

"My brother is dead because of you!" Todd pointed the gun at Martin and prepared to aim. The next few seconds seem to go in slow motion. As soon as the gun was aimed away from her, Angela fled and gave the baby to Vivian. The gun was pointed at Martin's head and just when it was about to be fired, Danny shot him point blank. Todd's body fell with a thud and a bullet was fired harmlessly into the ground. Vivian took Lily back to the car and gave her back to Samantha. Angela looked at her brother and begun to shrivel down into a crying heap, Jack and Danny walked over and handcuffed her. Martin stood up and ran toward the car.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked as Martin climbed in the back seat of the car with her.

"Yeah." He sighed. The baby begun to coo in Samantha's arms and Martin kissed her head. "Welcome back, Lily." He said and smiled at Sam.

"I'm so glad she's back," Sam begun to cry, "and I'm so glad that those people were criminal idiots." She said laughing nervously.

"She seems okay, I mean, I don't think she is hurt." Martin kissed Sam's temple and she leaned back into him. The baby begun to fall asleep.

"Doesn't look like it," Sam paused, "Can we go home now?"

Martin smiled, "I don't see why not."


	7. All My Loving

**Author's note: Thanks for all the great reviews. This will probably be the final chapter. Takes place five years after the last chapter left off.**

"Lily! Can you and your sister come inside? It's starting to get chilly." Samantha called out to her oldest daughter.

"Okay," Lily was almost six and growing like a weed, "Ellie, come on. It's time to go inside." Little Ella was three and wobbled toward her sister. Samantha smiled at the picturesque scene. Lily held out her hand and waited for her little sister to grab it. The two walked hand in hand. Samantha and Martin were lucky to have such perfect daughters; they got along and rarely caused any trouble.

"When will Daddy be home?" Lily asked as they made their way toward the back porch where Samantha stood.

"He should be home soon. Do you want to help set the table?"

"I guess." Lily shrugged and skipped off inside the house. Samantha bent down and picked Ellie up. "Hi, baby." Ellie smiled and put her head in her mom's shoulders. Lily was the spitting image of Samantha with long blond hair and brown eyes. Ellie resembled her father more with wavy light brown hair and blue eyes.

"Mom, Dad's home!" Lily squealed and ran off toward the front door, Ellie wiggled and Samantha put her down. Ellie wobbled though the house laughing.

"Hi!" Martin reached down and picked Ellie up and Lily hugged his waist. Samantha walked toward him, "How was your day."

"Uneventful." Martin smiled and Samantha leaned over and kissed him on the lips.

"Eww!" Lily said and ran off toward the living room and Martin put Ellie on the ground and she followed her older sister. Martin smiled and pulled Sam closer, "Now that were alone." Martin kissed her and pulled something behind his back. "Happy anniversary." He pulled out a small box which was relieved to be a pair of diamond earrings.

"Five years." Samantha said smiling. "They're beautiful, thank you." Samantha kissed Martin again.

"So what's for dinner? I'm starving."

"Aren't you always?" Samantha walked toward the kitchen.

"Ha ha."

"Chicken."

"You know Sam, I love you and all, but you're not the best chief."

"Yeah, I know. But I tried. And this time I followed the recipe almost exactly."

"I'm gonna go freshen up, call me when dinner is ready." Martin walked toward the back of the house.

"Can I have another piece of cake?" Lily asked as the family ate dessert, which usually only occurred on special occasions.

"Just a small piece, you don't want to get sick." Martin said

"You're gonna spoil her." Sam said.

"Shh…" Martin said smiling as he cut a tiny piece for his oldest daughter. Ellie was still working on her first.

"Okay, Lil, when you're done with that piece it's time to get ready for bed." Sam said

"Oh-kay." Lily sighed.

"I'll take care of Lily; can you get Ellie in her pajamas?" Sam asked.

"Sure." Martin lifted Ellie out of the chair while Lily walked toward the bedroom and Sam followed. The girls shared a room, but it was a large room. Lily put on her pajamas and sat on the bed while Samantha braided it. Lily didn't know of her kidnapping when she was six months old, and Martin and Samantha decided not to tell her until she was older-if they would even tell her at all. Martin sat Ellie on the bed and pulled down the covers, "Okay, ready for bed?" Ellie nodded and yawned.

"Why can't I stay up later?" Lily asked

"You can stay up later when you are older." Samantha replied and pulled down Lily's covers. Lily crawled under.

"Goodnight, honey. I love you." Samantha kissed Lily's forehead.

"I love you too, mommy."

"'Night, Ellie. I love you." Martin said and kissed his youngest daughters forehead.

"I love you." Ellie whispered. Sam and Martin traded sides of the room and tucked the other daughter in.

"Martin," Samantha said quietly, "Are you awake?"

"Yeah," Martin rolled over, "what's up?" They were lying in bed about ready to fall asleep.

"I went to the doctor today."

"And?" Martin said anxiously.

"Do you think the house will be big enough for another baby?" Samantha smiled and Martin kissed her.

"Definitely." He said happily, but tiredly.

"I'm pregnant."

"I got that." He laughed and kissed her again.


End file.
